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Sgl of $rtgntftrta Cestament, 

ROBERT COPLAND, BOKE-PRYNTER, 

Wi)t OTgil of tfje Sntgil 

antJ Jts 

Hast Cestammt, 

a Calfc of Cen Wtbes on t&efr 
^ustotrs' Ware, 

a Balafce or ttoo ftp Cfmum\ 

^nti ©tijer Sljort pieces* 



Edited by FREDERICK J. FURNIVALL. 






72 x 

: . — 



PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION. 

LONDON, 1871. 
C 



1K\ 



\7.b 

F« 



PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND CO., 
LITTLE QTJEEN STREET, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS. 



FOBEWOKDS. 



In hunting up Captain Cox's books lately, to give an account 
of each of them in my edition of Laneham's Letter, 1575, for 
the Ballad Society, and thus get a notion of the literature 
on which a reading middle-class man of Elizabeth's time 
was brought up, I came across " Julian of Brainford's testa- 
ment " for the first time. Hearing that there was only one 
copy extant of the eight leaves of each of the only two edi- 
tions known, I askt Mr. G. Parker of the Bodleian to tran- 
scribe the copy there for me 1 ; and as it proved to be worthy 
of preservation, I resolved to reprint it privately with 
another tract of like subject, The Wyll of the Deuyll, which 
I had seen in Lambeth Library two years ago when looking 
for MSS and books about the condition of England in Henry 
VIIFs reign, and had then put down for reprinting in the 
Early English Text Society's list, but had since thought of 
withdrawing in order to avoid possible annoyance to the 
Society from any cantankerous puritan like the one who 
bothered me about the Percy-Folio Loose and Humorous 
Songs. Both tracts are of value as illustrating the manners 
and tone of the classes they treat of in Tudor days ; and I 
have no notion of leaving them to be seen only by those 
who can spare time and money for visits to Lambeth and 
Oxford for that purpose. None of us students of English 

1 Mr. Collier does not say where the other copy, " Jjl of Braintford's 
Testament/' is. [In his own possession. — T. Corser.j He holds it to 
be of the earlier edition. I hold it to be of the later, because it is less 
correct. Mr. Collier's reported variations of it are markt A in the 
notes following. 

A 2 



4 FOREWORDS. 

antiquity are beasts or fools enough to want to possess such 
tracts because they contain a few coarse words; we want 
the whole of the getatable evidence, whatever it may be, on 
the social condition of Tudor England, on our shelves, so ' 
that we may judge of it for ourselves. 

Moreover, Jyl of Breyntford is by Eobert Copland, the 
one of the poet-printers of Henry VIIFs time to whom we 
are most indebted, and who has left us the most valuable 
picture I know, of the beggars and thriftless class of his 
day, in his Hye Way to the Sjpyttel House, which I recom- 
mend every one to read in the reprint in Mr. W. C. Hazlitt's 
Remains of the Early Popular Poetry of England, 1866, 
vol. iv, p. 17. This Hye Way was another of Captain Cox's 
books, and I have given an account of it in my Forewords 
to Laneham } s Letter. We owe besides to Robert Copland 1 
the amusing " Complaynte of them that ben to late maryed M 
printed by Wynkyn de Worde ; an ' Inuocation/ and per- 
haps all the metrical translations in 'The passyon of our 
lorde/ Wynkyn de Worde, 1532; "The History of Helyas 
Knight of the Swan translated out of french into English 
[by Robert Coplande] at the Instigation of y e pusant and 
Illustrus prince y e lord Edward Duke of Buckingam, Earle 
of Hereford Stafford & of Northhampton" (W. de Worde, 
6 Febr. 1512-13); "The Life of Ipomydon," said to be 
printed by Wynkyn de Worde; "Kynge Appolyne of 
Thyre," a translation from the French, with an original 
prologue (W. de Worde, 1510); "The Rutter of the See, 
with the Hauens, Rodes, Soundynges, Kennynges, Wyndes, 
Flodes, and Ebbes, Daungers, and Coastes, of Dyuers 
Regyons, &c," London, 1528, a translation; an Address 
before, and an Envoy in verse after, a prose tract, "The 

1 His two names form an acrostic just preceding the last stanza . . 
a fact . . only recently pointed out to us. Collier's Bibl. Cat. i. 153. 
" He was probably the author, or rather, translator, of a second tract 
of similar character : " A complaynt of them that be to soone maryed," 
W. de Worde, 1535, 4to, 13 leaves, black letter ; and of the " Payne 
and Sorowe of Euyll Maryage," W. de Worde, no date, 4to, 4 leaves, 
black letter. - ' Hazlitt's Early Pop. Poetry, iv. 21, (at p. 73 of which 
volume the last named tract is reprinted). 



FOREWORDS. O 

spectacle of lovers, here after foloweth a lytell contrauers 
dialogue bytwene loue and councell, with many goodly 
argumentes of good women and bad, very compendyous to 
all estates, newly compyled by Wyllyam Walter, seruannt 
vnto Syr Henry Marnaye, Knight, Chauncelour of the 
Dutchye of Lancastre," (W. de Worde : a copy in Mr. S. 
Christie-Miller's Library at Britwell 1 ) ; an address in verse 
by 'Roberte Coplande, boke-prynter, to new-fanglers/ in 
fonr 8-line stanzas, prefixed to Chaucer's Assemble of Foules 
1530, and at the end, an Envoy of 3 more stanzas; also 
another Envoy to Wynkyn de Worde's edition of f The 
Castell of Pleasure/ a poem by William Nevyl, son of Lord 
Latimer 2 . ' He also contributed the Petycyon and Envoy e to 
the Myrrour of the Chyrche, 1521 ; and he has verses before 
the Secrets of Aristotyle, 1528V Also, says Mr. Hazlitt, 
_E7. Pop. P. iv. 371, on the last leaf of ' The Introductory to 
wryte and pronounce Frenche ' by Alexander Barcley, f Im- 
prynted at London in the Fletestrete at the sygne of the 
Eose Carlande by Robert coplande, the yere of our lorde 
M. CCCCC.xxi. y e xxii day of Marche/ is "Here foloweth 
the maner of dauncynge of base dances, after the vse of 
fraunce and other places, translated out of frenche into 
Englysshe by Robert coplande "z this is reprinted in a note 
to my edition of Captain Cox or Laneham's Letter, Bal. Soc. 
1871. "'The Secret of Secrets of Aristotyle/ translated 
out of French, and emprented by R. C. 1528, 4to, with the 
translator [R. Copland] 's Envoy in verse. l The Maner to 
line well &c/ printed by R. C. 1540, 4to, and translated, 
probably by himself, out of French. (See Dibclin, hi. 120-4.) 
' The Art of Memorye/ translated out of French into English 
by Rob. Coplande. London, by W. Myddylton. 12mo. 3 " 
Of the Wyll of the Denyll I can find no notice, bibliogra- 

1 All from Hazlitt's Handbook. 

2 Hazlitt's Early Pop. Poetry, iv. 19, 20. 

3 ' For further notices of Copland, consult Wood's Atli. Oxon. vol. i, 
p. 252 ; Warton's Hist. Engl. Poet. vol. i, p. ccxxxvi, and vol. iv, 
p. 138 ; Dibdin's Typog. Antia. vol. iii, p. 122 ; Hitson's Bibllogr. Poet. 
p. 173.' — Corser's Collect. Anglo-Poet. Pt. iv, p. 455. 



6 FOREWORDS. 

phical or other, but am told that Mr. J. P. Collier has 
reprinted a later edition of it in one of his Series, and, as 
usual, without saying where his original is. It is a sharp 
and coarse satire against certain classes of the society of its 
time, and is reprinted from the copy in the Lambeth Library. 
For Testaments more or less like the present one, see Golyn 
Blowbols Testament, printed in Mr. Halliwell's Nugce Poeticce, 
1844, and Hazlitt's Early Pop. Poetry, i. 91 ; Dunbar's 
Testament ofAndro Kennedy, 1508, (and in Works, ed. Laing ;) 
( Wyl Buclce, His Testament, by John Lacy, printed by W. 
Copland, no date, 4to (reprinted by Haslewood, and in 
Literature of the 16th and 17th Centuries Illustrated, 1851); 
The Will and Testament of the Hare, printed (I think) in the 
English Gesta Romanorum; The Last Wyll and Testament 
of Ban Bartholomew of Bath, printed in Gascoigne's Posies, 
1575, 4to/ Roxburghe Library, 1870. (E. Pop. P. i. 91.) 

The Talk of Ten Wives on their Husbands' Ware was first 
brought into public notice by Sir F. Madden, in his account 
of the contents of the Porkington MS No. 10, in his Syr 
Gawayne for the Bannatyne Club. He called it an amusing 
but indelicate story. Mr. Halliwell also quoted several 
passages from it in his Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial 
Words. It illustrates those old-time women of Britain, of 
whom Chaucer's Wife-of-Bath and Dunbar's Widow are the 
types, and justifies those poets' sketches. The Ten Wives' 
Talk is, we may be sure, no libel on what went on at those 
frequent sittings f at the ale' in which women formerly 
indulged. A near relative of mine, a few years since, was 
greatly astonished to see a like question to that discust by the 
Wives, experimentally settled on some clean plates, for a bet, 
by a party of Welsh farmers after a market dinner at an inn 
on the borders. 

A few other pieces of like character that have come across 
me in my manuscript work, are added. 

In the Jyl tract the black-letter I is printed I or J accord- 
ing to modern usage. 

Egham, September 2, 1870. 



[4to, C. 39. Art. Seld. (Bodl. Libr.)] 

gpl oi fcrepntfortis testament 

liefolg comptltb; 

[Woodcut of a man and a woman, with a house in the background.] 

[p. 2] « ^[ Proface, maystres Jyllyan, with your company : 
I pray you fyll you not to moche of that mutton , 
I promyse you that it is very queysy, 

And, or ye be ware, wyll make your bely button." 

[Woodcuts of a man and 2 women. Fantasyoj£&4h&m8Lii on the left ; 
M. Jyllyan in the centre ; an unn^nleaone on the right.] 

" Take no thought, good syr, how I shal be fyld, 
But come you nere, & take parte of our swyllyng. 

Leaue your courteysy, I pray you, be pyld, 

And couer your head j I be-shrew the fyllyng \" s 



A' 



[p. 3] ^[ Prologus of Robert Copland, the auctor. 

t Brentford 1 , on the west of London, 
Nygh to a place that called is Syon 2 , 
There dwelt a widow of a homly 3 sort, 
Honest in substaunce, & full of sport ; 12 

Dally she cowd, with pastim & Jestes, 
Among her neyghbours and her gestes ; 

1 Seven miles down the South Western Eoad. Many a walk did I 
have there from school at Hanwell, to buy books, papers, and packets 
of sweetstuff and cakes. 

2 Sion House is the Duke of Northumberland's big place between 
Brentford and Isleworth, seen well from' the Thames and Eew Gardens, 
and is said to have as many windows as there are days in the year. 

3 holy, A. — Collier. 



8 JYL OP BREYNTFORDS TESTAMENT. 

She kept an lime, of ryght good lodgyng, 
For all estates that thyder was comyng. in 

It chaunced this wydow, as it is supposed, 
In her sport, and meryly dysposed, 
After her deth, for a remembrannce 
Thaught to haue some matter of pastaunce 20 

For people to laugh at, in suche company 
As are dysposed for to talke meryly, 
Mengled with mani propre scoffes and boordes, 
Of sondry tauntes, with some mery woordes, 24 

The which I haue hard at many seasons 
Full of pastyme 1 , with prety reasons ; 
For yf any dyd a thyng ouerthwart, 
They sayd euer, l ' ye shall haue a fart 28 

Of Jyll of Branford for your payne V 
The which sayng oft troubled my brayn, 
For I neuer knew what the mater was, 
Nor coud the meanyng bryng to pas ; 
Tyll at the last, vpon a day 
I met on, John hardlesay, 
A mery felaw in eche company, 

Which sayd, " Copland, thou lokest drye !" 30 

1 ' The truth," quod I, " is as ye say ; 
For I drank not of all thys day." 
[p. 4.] And of a short tale to make an ende, 

To the Read Lyon at the shamels end 40 

We went for to drynke good ale ; 

And as he was tellyng his tale, 

I offred hym for to drynke fyrst : 

" Copland," quod he, ' ' art thou a-thyrst, 44 

And byddeth me a-fore the to drynke ? 

To my Jugemeiit, I do thynke, 

Of Jyll of Brentford worthy thou art, 

Be her bequest to haue a fart ! 48 



1 pastaunce, A. — Collier. Compare Henry VIII's song, " Pastaunce 
with good companye," in my ed. of Captain Cox, or Laneharris Letter. 



JYL OF BKEYNTFORDS TESTAMENT. 9 

And truly now is come to my mynde, 

Not long ago how I dyde fynde 

An old scrow, all ragged and rent, 

Besemyng it is some mery entent, 52 

As dyners say that do it rede ; 

But galaunt toyes ther semes in dede, 

It is so antyk, broken, and so raced, 

That all the chyef 1 is clene defaced. 56 

Take it, and I pray the hertyly 

Loke theron ; and yf thou espy 

That it be of any substance, 

Of myrth, or of honest pastaunce, 60 

And where thou spyest that it dooth want, 

Or where for lack: the mater is scant, 

Put to it as is accordyng 

To the mater in euery thyng ; 64 

Bere 2 it with the, and take sume payne, 

The poore mare shall haue his man agayn 3 ." 

T Whan I came home, at lasure, 

My hert not parfytly at pleasure 68 

[p. 5.] For the los of a certayn frynde, — 

As good knowes, few be to fy [n] de — 

For recreacion I it toke, 

To pas the tyme, ther on to loke ; 72 

And of trouth, oft in the redyng 

It dyd styre me to fall on smylyng, 

Consyderyng the prety pasty me 

And rydycle ordre of the ryme, 76 

1 Collier says that cliyet in one copy is changed to cheefin the other, 
{Bibl. Cat. i. 153). This is probably one of those invented mistakes, 
of which some occur in his Stat. Meg. See my ed. of lioorde's Intro- 
duction, etc., E. E. T. Soc. 1871, p. 71-2, note. At any rate, either his 
chyet or cheef must be wrong. 

2 Keep, A. — Collier. 

3 This line, says Mr. Collier, illustrates a speech by Puck in Mid- 
summer Wight's Dream, Act iii, sc. 2, the end : — 

lacke shall haue Iill, nought shall goe ill, 

The man shall haue his Mare againe, 

and all shall bee well. Sooth's reprint, p. 157, col. 1. 



10 JYL OP BREYNTFORDS TESTAMENT. 

The couert termes, vnder a mery sence, 

Shewyng of many the blynd in-solence, 

Tauntyng of thynges past and to come, 

Where as my selfe was hyt with some ; 80 

And for that cause I dyd intend 

After thys maner to haue it pende, 

Prayeng all them that mery be, 

If it touch them, not to blame me. 84 

% An ende of the proll [o] gue. 



J^ere foloirretfj tfje preface anti testament of ntaoBtreg 
JpUgen of BrentfortJ. 

THis mery wydow, mastres Jyllyan, 
On a day dysposed io}^fully, 
By any way that I presuppose can, 

Ordeyned a lytell banket of deinty ; 90 

At the whiche, to bere her company, 
For certayne of her neyghbours she sent, 
And for her Curat, to be ther present, 93 

Prayeng hym for to bryng paper and ynke, 

To wryte som-what after her entent. 
She made hym chere of her meat and drynke. 
[p. 6.] That doone, she sayd, " this is myne intent, 97 

That you as now shall wryte mi testament ; 
For I do fele that aege dooth mee oppresse : 
Good is to haue all thyng in redynesse. 100 

(a 2 ) 
' ' My neighbours here shalbe with you recorde, 

How I am penytent at this makyng, 
And hole of minde, now, thankes to our lord; 

Howbeit, I haue oft a shrewd shaking : 104 

ye shalbe pleased for your payn takyng." 
"ye, maystres," quod he, "I am your curate, 
I am bound to serue you erli and late." 107 



JYL OF BEEYNTEORDS TESTAMENT. 11 

" Well than/' quod she, " In dei nomine, Amen ! 

My soule I bequeth to our lord almight : 
He hath it maed, it is his own then \ 

He hath it bought, it is his be ryght, ill 

In heuen to be in the eternall lyght. 
And to the erth I bequeth my body, 
It is his own ; I can it not deny. 114 

" My synnes all I corny t to the deuyll. 

Let hym take them with hym to hell, 
For he was the causer of all myn euyll. 

My goodes, to the world, yf I do well, us 

For they be his, I can it not expell ; 
Her I found them ; here they must remayn ; 
Saue fame and name, I leue nothyng certain. 121 



' ' Now vnto my frendes, reason is I should 
Haue a synguler aspect bi nature : 
I gyue vnto them all that they hold, 
[p. 7.] As moche as I do to any creature ; 125 

yf they gete ought, then are they sure, 
After my dethe, yf they do for me, 
I bequeth to them of my charyte. 128 

" But now, good syr ! I pray you for to take 

[• ] 

This cup of ale, and drynke ones for god sake, 

For I am dysposed to ordeyn a dole 132 

To all maner people thorow a hoi ; 
For I wold not haue to ouer moche preas, 
Least that with throng my almes shold ceas. 135 

" Now ye haue dronk ones, good goostly father, 

I trust for to make an ende the rather ; 137 



a 



% And write as I do byd you, hardyly : 
' I bequethe a fart to hym that is angry 

With his frend, and wotes not why. 140 



12 JYL OP BREYNTFORDS TESTAMENT. 

' To hym that selleth al his herytage, 
And all his lyfe lyueth in seruage, 

I bequeth a farte, for hym in his aege. 113 

' He that settes by no man, nor none by hym, 
And to promocion fayn wold clym, 

I bequethe a fart, for to make hym trym. 14.6 

1 He that wyll not lerne, and can do nothyng, 
And with lewed folk is euer conuersyng, 

I beqnethe a fart, toward his lyuyng. 149 

e He that boroweth with-out aduantage, 
[p. 8.] And euermore renneth in arrerage, 

I bequeth a fart, for to lye to gage. 152 

' He that geueth, and kepeth nought at all, 
And by kyndnes to pouerte dooth fall, 

Shall haue a fart, to helpe hym with all. 155 

' He that is euer way-ward at hart, 
And with euery man is ouerwart 1 ; 

For to please hym, I bequethe a fart. 158 

' He that 2 hath drynke in his hand, and is dry, 
Byddyng him drinke fyrst that standeth him by ; 
I bequeth a fart, his thyrst to satysfy. 161 

' He that hath a faire wenche in bed all night, 
And kyssyng her not onse or it be day lyght, 

Shall haue a fart to clense his eye syght. iG4 

' He that lendeth a horse, with all thynges mete, 
And on his own vyage gooth on his fete, 

Shall haue a fart to kepe hym fro wete. ig7 

1 oyertlawart. 2 tbay, orig. 



JYL OP BREYNTEORDS TESTAMENT. 13 

f He that suffreth all maner of offence, 
And loseth his goodes through neclygence, 

Shall haue a farte for a recompence. 170 

c He that taketh a wyfe, and haue nothyng, 
And boroweth all thyng to them belonging ; 

I wyll a fart toward theyr offryng. !73 

1 He that prepareth not for his houshold 
[p. 9.] Agaynst wynter, and hym self is olde, 

Shall haue a fart 1 to kepe hym fro coulde. 176 

( % He that gooeth to a feaste to sup or to dyne, 
And hath no knyfe with hym, neyther cours nor fyne 2 , 
Shall haue a fart for to drynke with his wyne. 179 

' ^[ He that boroweth tyll none wyll lend hym, 
And swereth so moche, tyll non wyll beleue hym, 
Shall 3 haue a fart for to rel[e]ue hym. 182 

f % He that mourneth for that he cannot haue, 
And vnpossyble to get that he dooth craue, 

Shall haue a fart, as a folysh knaue. 185 

c He that dooth nothyng but shaue and poll, 
And taketh no thought for to saue his soil, 

Shall haue a fart, my passyng bel to toll. iss 

1 A prentyce or seruant that wyll not obay, 
And wyll not lerne, but ofte ren a-way ; 

A fart for hys fredom I do pouruay. 191 

c He that suffreth his wyfe to do her lust, 
And seeth that to foly she is full trust, 

Shall haue a fart, though I sholde burst. 194 



1 fare, orig. 

2 G-uests took their own knives with them to feasts. 

3 Slnal, orig. 



14 JYL OF BREYNTFORDS TESTAMENT. 

( A wydow that ones hath ben in the brake, 
And careth not whome that she doth take, 

Shall haue a fart, though myn ars ake. 197 

f A mayde that niarryeth, not caryng whome, 
[p. 10.] And doeth repent when she cometh home, 

Shall haue a fart, to by her a come. 200 

1 % He that dooth drynke euermore, 
And wyll not shyfte to paye therfore, 

S[h]all haue a fart for to set to 1 his score. 203 

f He that goeth to a fray at the begynny[n]g, 
And to a good meale at the latter endyng, 

Shall haue a farte for his good attendyng. 206 

' He that gooth oft where he is not welcom, 
And to his fryndes hous gooth but seldom, 

Shall haue a fart for his good wesdom/ 209 

Maystres 2 Iyll. 

" Now hold your hand, and make a stay there. 
Eowe many fartes haue I bequest here ? 

For by my trouth I am almost wery." 212 

The Curat. 
" For soth, maystres, here is iomp 3 four and twenty." 213 

Maystres Iyll. 
" Nay, set in one mo, to make a hole quarteron." 214 

Curate. 
" Tell me what, and it shalbe done anon." 215 



1 no, orig. 2 Maysters, orig. 

3 jump, just, exactly. 



JYL OP BREYNTFORDS TESTAMENT. 15 

Maystres Iyll. 

" Mary, he that dooth his wepen lend, 
And hath nothyng hym selfe to defende, 217 

Shall haue a fart ; and there an end. 

These I do bequeth in especiall ; 

But as for all the other in generall 220 

That are with-out nombre, [they] shall not be 
swerued, 

But delt to all suche as haue them deserued. 
[p. 11.] But tary, I pray you all, yf ye please, 

For I fele me sodeynly euell at ease ; 224 

It is a styche, romblyng in my syde, 

Which dooth greue me at many a tyde. 

I must rest me tyll the pang be gone, 

For other medicyn knowe I none. 228 

It cometh in maner of a wynd, 

That causeth my bely for to grynd; 

I feare it wyll turne to a strangury, 

To an vncom, or to a tympany ; 232 

With qualmes & stytches it doth me torment, 

That all my body is torne and rent ; 

I haue a lytell box full of dyaculum, 

I dare not for nygorshyp 1 take sum, 236 

I-wis I am vnwyse so for to spare it. 

For I should take ther-of a-fore the fet." 238 

The Curat. 
% With that she groned, as panged with payne, 
Grypyng her bely with her hands twayne, 
And lyffc vp her butook soni-what a- wry, 
And lyke a handgon, she lete a fart fly. 242 

If Maystres Iyll. 

" *[f Ah, syrra, mary, a-way the mare ! 
The deuyll geue the sorow and care, 

1 ?for ' nygonship,' miserliness ; 'niggon,' a niggard, a miser. 



16 JYL OF BREYNTFORDS TESTAMENT. 

For thou haddest me almoost slaine ! 

I pray god thou come neuer a-gayne \" 246 

IT The Curate. 
With that sum laughed, & sum did frown, 
And for shame held theyr heades down. 248 

If Maystres Iyll. 

" % Be merry, 1 neybours, moch good do it yow ! 
I thank god I am well eased now ! 
[p. 12.] Loo ! there is my gryef gone and past; 

I wyst well that it wold not long last. 252 

I pray you all for to be mery ; 

I gyue it among this company, 

For to make you some chere with-all ; 

For I tell you, myn executors shall 256 

Neuer haue all : by god I swere, 

I wyll deale whyle I am here, 

Now and than, where as I lyst. 

By Chryst, I tell you, I have a chyst 260 

Full, that shall be open whyle I lyue, 

Secretly and openly for to gyue. 

I shall haue ynough, I wyll not them spare, 

As well for other, as myn own welfare. 264 

Whan I am dead, they that come after me 

S[h]all deale the rest at theyr necessyte. 

Therfore as now, thys suffycyent 

As concerning this sayd testament. 268 

To sub [s] crybe your names, it shall not skyll ; 

For I make it but as copy of a wyll. 

As touchyng the choys of myn executours, 

Of my funerals, and surueyours, 272 

And other tryfles, ye shall not take the payns ; 

Another tyme, whan it comes in my brayns, 

It shalbe ordred after suche a sorte 

That some shall not take it as a sporte. 276 

1 mercy, orig. 



JYL OP BREYNTFORDS TESTAMENT. 17 

But, neybours, I pray you be not angry 
By cause that I am so bold and homly 
To kepe you here at my folysh reason. 
Some wyll thynke my wyts be geson 1 ; 280 

But yet I tell you that all this season 
We haue neyther sayd heresy nor treason ; 
[p. 13.] And yf the take it neuer so at hartes 

I-wys it is but a bequest of fartes, 284 

Wylled to them that, without aduysement, 
Do that thynge waer of they repent : 
Ther fore I wyll you no longer trouble. 



288 



What, mayd ! come hyther, 2 I shrew your nek ! 

Bryng vs vp shor[t]ly a quarte of sek, 

A cowple of bunnes, and set vs som chese. 

Lo, frendes, ye shall not all your labour lese ; 292 

I haue as now no better chere to make you ; 

Be mery and welcome ! to god I be-take you ! 294 

Finis. 



[A woodcut of a woman with a basket on her arm, and of a man with a 
hook in his hand : like the cut on the title-page.] 



1 scanty. 2 printed * hyeker.' 



B 



18 



JYL OP BREYNTFORDS TESTAMENT. 



[p. 14.] 



% The auctour. 



the 



al passed & 



300 



312 



WHan the compani was 

And the curate with maistres Iil alone : 296 

" Maistr [i] s " quod he, " if it be your plesauwce, 

ye know it is the custam & ordinamice 

Of them that writ a dede, indenture, or byll, 

That it is of ryght, reason, & skyll, 

Some recompence of labour for to haue : 

Gyue what ye lust, for I wyll not craue." 

" By our lady," quod she, " that is but well said. 

What, John ! how ! come hyther, mayd ! 304 

Go call the company a-gayne to me, 

For I haue to say, two woordes or thre." 

Whan they came, she sayd, " neyghbours, I pray 
you, bere record what I do saye : 308 

I sent for you for a certayne purpose 
Whiche a-for you I dyd dysclose ; 
The truth is so, after the same rate 
I dyd send also for mayster curate, 
To wryte, ye sawe, my symple testament. 
Now in dede, as is conuenyent, 
He doth aske for his labour therfore. 
In dede, bicause he mad no bargain e before, 
And dooth put it to my conscience, 
Truli this shall he haue for a recompence ; 
And by-cause a-fore hand he k[n]ewe my mynde, 
He shall not fynd me to hym vnkynde : 320 

A fart and a half I wil geue hym, no les, 
Nor no more ; thys is of my gentylnes ; 
For he that worketh, vnknowing whaw to haue, 
Not half a fart is worthi for to craue, 324 

[p. 15.] And besyde that, a hood full of bels." 

" Why," quod the preste, ' ( get I nothyng els ? 
Than to the deuill I geue hole fart, half, awd all \" 
" Nay, take it thy selfe, folysh syr Hob all, 328 

Syr John whypdok, syr Jak whypstoke, 
Syr John smelsmok, as wyse as a woodcok ! 



316 



JYL OF BREYNTFORDS TESTAMENT. 19 

A hedge Curat, with as moche wit as a calf, 

To syt so long for a fart and a halfe ! 332 

But to proue your braynes to be thynner, 

Or euer ye go, pay for your dynner \" 

This 1 she raeled, as her maner was to iest ; 

And so, with -out farwell, lost her dayly gest„ 336 

Finis. 

If Thus endeth Jill of Brantfords testament 
conteynyng. xxvi. farths and a half. 

% An exhortacyon, 

My maysters, I pray you all that shall rede 

Or here [th]is lytell prety fantasy, 340 

Passeng forth meryly, in it to proced, 

The maner how for to deale moost egally 

This half fart truly, for to try, 

That the Curate for his parte be not denyde 344 

Of the fart and the half, and let the rest ly ; 

And who shal haue the half among you to be trid [e] . 

In this matter, yf ye do a-gre, 

Who shall haue this half fart, say ye ? 348 

% Imprented at London in Lothbury ouer agaynst 

Saint Margarytes church by me 

Wyllyam Copland. 

[p. 16, blank.! 
[End.] 



1 often printed for thus. 



B 2 



20 



[From the original black-letter tract in the Lambeth Library. ,] 

a Cf)t WtyW ot tfje BeuplI, [Ai 

^ntf last ^Testament 



An Exhortacion to the deuyls L 9i g n - A - "• 

Adherentes. 

PAmachius, Bishop of Rome, beweilyng the death of 
Belsebub his father, doth cause al his Auernals forked- 
tipes, & anoynted Gentlemen, to come to the readyng 
of the Deuyls Testament & Last Wyll, which he, his owne 
selfe, trustyng no body in so hyghe mattiers, he dothe reade 
out a loude openly, saiyng as hereafter folio weth. 

The wylle of the deuyl. 

IN myne owne name, Amen ! I Belseebub, cheife of hel, 
Prince of darkenesse, Father of the vnbeleuers, and 
Gouernour of the v 1 niuersall sinagoge Pa- 
pistical, beyng sycke in bodye and soule, make 
this my Testament and Last Wylle, in maner & forme 
folowyng, that is to say : Fyrst, I bequethe my spytefull 
soule & body to my sonn Antichrist, togeder to be buried in 
saynt Peters Churche at Rome, vndernethe the hygh Aulter 
and Canapie, or in the stony & carnall heartes of my Dear- 
lynges, the Massemongers and Papistes. Also, all my 
Ceremonies which in the Churches bee vsed here within 
this region, I geue them to the makers & inuentors ther-of, 
& to their posteritie, to bestow them where thei wyll : that 
is to wyt : First, I geue and bequethe to pope Phelix, all 
suche supersticious & idle holydayes, as he inuented : & to 



THE WYLL OF THE DEUYLL, AND LAST TESTAMENT. 21 

... Honorious, 1 that lue and coniurer, I geue the 

Offerynges which were geuen to ydolles & 
ymages. And I geue Constat tine al the whole ymages of my 
Churches : My belles, to Sabinianus : my popysh Hympnes, 
to Pope Leo : my Matens and Organs, to Urbanus & Uita- 
lianus : my syngyng, to Pope Stephanus : my Procession, to 
Agapitus : to Pope Alexander, my coniured waters : to Pas- 
chalis, my reliques : to Honorius, my Letany : my supersticion 
of Lent, to Thelesphorus ; the vigil saturdaye, to Pope Inno- 
cent : & the friday fish, to Pope Leo : The Imbredays, to pope 
Calixtus : to Theodorus, the Paschall at Easter : to Gregory 
the .vii. the Saintes vigils and Rogacion wycke : my Lent 
seruyce, to A 2 uela the first : my Shrines and dedi- 
cacion, to Sergius & Phelix : All Hallowes & all 
soules daye, to Johan the .xix. And to Pope Boniface the .iiii. 
My yearely Confession, to the councell of Laterenence : & al 
other my Ceremonies, to the Inuenters therof, as precisely 
as I rehersed them particulerly by name. 

And I geue and bequethe to the Usurers of all Tounes 
and Places, .xx. millions of golde, to be deuided equally 
betweene them, as they woulde parte my blessyng; and 
that they le[nd]ande to no maner of person any part therof, 
without great lucre and gaynes, yea, and without bearyng 
any aduenture at all. 

Item, I geue my Chastitee to the Cleargy. Also, I 
3 u a g eue to the best parte of them, eueryche, 3 a red 
blooddy goune; and euery other of them, a longe 
greene goune, or a fyne blacke goune, with eueriche their 
tippettes of veluet & sarcenet, doune to the grounde, to be 
knowen from other men, followyng me to my buriall, if I 
dye, and none other persones. 

Item, I geue to the meane sorte of people, a M. loaues of 
bread, to be geuen to the dogges, rather then to poore 
men. Item to the Mercers & Grocers, and other reteylers 
of wares, euerich of them, a clothe, to hange before their 
wyndowes : & eueryche of them a subtle light, to make 
all their wares to shew fyne. 



22 THE WYLL OP THE DEUYLL, 

Item, I geue to the Uintiner, all my rotten wynes, to 
apparell the rest of their Wynes. 

Item, I geue to euery x Tayler, a Banner, 
wherin shal be conteyned al the parcelles of 
cloth and sylkes .&c. as he hathe cast them into hell. 

Item, I geue to eueryche of the cheifest menne of Lawe, 
a Moyle, to bryng him to hell ; and two right handes to 
helpe himself with-all, to take money of both partes : and 
to euery of these pety Bouget men of lawe, and Tearmers, 
a couple of geldynges for him and his man to ryde vp & 
doune, and a Bouget to put inne their Sub-Penas, to crake 
the poore men with-all in the countrey. Item, I geue to 
all Women, souereygntee, which they most desyre ; & that 
they neuer lacke excuse. 

Item, I geue to euery syngle woman and vnchaste wyfe 

„ , -„ . in London, a couered Basket, to 2 beare in their 
2 j ea f B . i 

handes ; & to the fynest sorte of them, an Apple 
squyre, to go before eueryche of them to couer their follyes. 
Item, I geue to all Whoremongers, Fornicators, and 
Aduouterers, a craffcye wytte, to wrest the scriptures, & to 
make them serue for filthy purposes, therby to excuse & 
proue themselues fautlesse. Wherein, I wyl al our Sodo- 
mitical Clergye, which for their owne ease do abhorre 
paynfull wedlocke, and replenish the worlde with incestuous 
whoredome, to helpe and ayde them with vnshamefast 
railyng agaynst our enemies, the ministers of Groddes worde. 
Item, I geue vnto hym^^^l which, vnder the tytle of 
Heresy es Testament, dyd, as a valiant Champion of ours, 
3 most treaterously diffame and sclaunder the 
trew doctrine of my great foe and enemye, 
Jesu Christ, a stubburne, styffe, & rebellious hert, therwith 
stoutly — thoroughe my speciall diuelysh grace — to withstand 
& resist, and as moche as in him lyeth, to let, his Princes 
procedynges, and to intoxicate & poyson the simple, lest 
they falle and swarue from me ; and after his deceasse, if he 
continew faithfully to the end in my seruyce, a place in hel, 
next to Sathaw my eldest sonne. 



3 leafB lback 



AND LAST TESTAMENT. 23 

And bicause that — with the inuincible sworde of my 
inortall enemy, which most victoriously reigneth nowe, our 
kyngdome beyng almost subuerted, sauing that yet, some 
of our Marked monsters do boldly & vnshamefastly, agaynst 
... their owne conscience & knowledge, do mayn- 
teyne and vpholde it, fightyng with toothe and 
nayle for our honor and right, — I feele my self wounded to 
death, without any hope of recouery, (For all Phisiciows, to 
whom I have geuen leue to kyl boldly, without any feare 
of enditement or hangyng, and to minister poyson to the 
pacientes, in stede of wholsome phisycke, haue with the 
crafty and theuysh surgeons all forsaken me,) I doo here, in 
my ragious mynde, geue my ample & large banner & 
standarde, the Masse, vnder the which all false Christians 
haue with me stoburnly and moch more blasphemously 
fought agaynst the price of their owne soule healthe and 
redemption, that is to say, the deathe and bloode of my most 
21 f -R •• t deadly e 2 enemy Jhesu Christ, vnto my good, 
especiall, and trusty frendes, Emserus, Echius, 
Faber Constanciensis, and Stephen Gardenerus, with many 
other, vnto whom, if they wyll persist stil in my desent & 
comely camp of blasphemy, I haue prepared a place meete 
for suche Champions and worthye knyghtes : Reserued 
alway, that my sonne the Antichrist, with his shauelynges 
and annoynted Sodomites, shalbe participant therof, that 
so, with the daily Offeryng of a new made God, they may 
purchase vnto themselues my Satannicall blessynge and 
helly rest. 

I do geue to Urbanus the .i. the syluer and golden Cha- 
lices ; and vnto Sixtus the first, all my fyne Corporaces ; & 
a , _„ ... the holy 3 deuelish halowed Uestimentes or Par- 

leai j3 iii. 

liament robes, whiche my Standardbearers doo 

vse to weare in my battayles and warres, I dooe bequethe 

vnto Stephen the first. 

Item, I geue the rablement of the other feined and 

domme ceremonies wherwith my standard is patched and 

made, to the Popysh masmongers, to conforte their sory 



24 THE WYLL OF THE DEUYLL, 

hertes with-all, licensyng them, with the misunderstanded 
G-ospell & Epistell to cloke their blasphemous Masse, as I 
myself dyd bring against myne enemy Christ, playn scrip- 
tures, to blynde him with-all. These bee the domme & 
blasphemous Ceremonies that I do meane ; the Confiteor, 
wherein is the puddle of all blasphemye; the Office; the 

11 P^—i i misused Kyrye ele^son ; their blasphemous 
1 leaf B in back. ~ J? ~ _ r 

Colectes ; their couetous Ofiertory, to spoyle 

the poore Laitee with-all, and fyll their owne purses ; their 
stinkynge Canon, with their Sussipe sancta Trinitas wher- 
with they robbe my great enemy Christ of his honor and 
glory. Item, I wyl them, vnder the colour of the Com- 
munion set furthe by their godly Prince, boldly and vn- 
shamefastly to keepe, maintayne, & vpholde my blasphe- 
mous Masse, which is an iniurye to the right institucion of 
the Lordes Supper. 

Item, I geue to all them that kepe whores beside their 

wives, a baudy house of their owne, & this saiyng of the 

retcheles woman in Salomo?i 2 (Stollen waters ar sweete, & 

31 f tj ^ e bread that is priuely eaten hathe a good 

3 taste) to defende their baudery. 

Item, I geue to all Preestes, Lemondes, that wyl not marry, 
but perseuer in their Sodomiticall & abhominable chasti- 
tee, that they shall pysse holy water all the dayes of their 
lyfe, euer chatteryng agaynst the trewe wyues of the 
Ministers. 

Item, I geue to all them that professe the Gospell, and 
with their filthy liuyng doo geue occasion to blaspheme the 
same, a fayre tongue to talke of it, an hipocriticall face, and 
a newe Testament or other Booke in their handes, to hyde 
their feined holynesse, & hipocrisye with all. 

Item, I geue to euery Ruffian, a sword & a buckeler, a 
shyrte of mayle, & hosen of the same, a payre of chayned 
buskens, a theuish looke, & a whore. 



2 The brackets are those of the original. 



AND LAST TESTAMENT. 25 

1 Item I geue to all my idle huswyues, a small 
leaf B 4 h uSW yf e or .ii, to kepe them company with-all, & 
to loue other mens houses better then their owrie, 
and to passe as much for their honesty as thei do of their 
cobled shoes, and also, a loue to go gay on the holy day, and 
to do nothing ; and other of the workyng daye, to kepe them 
occupyed styll. 

Item, I bequethe to all dycers, otherwyse called wynde- 
shaken gentle men, to euery one a thousand payre of false 
dice, a copper chayne or two, .xx. copper rynges plated with 
golde, a glosyng tongue, a fayre dissembled countinaunce, 
to deceyue playne men with-all, & an acre of land vpo?i 
shoters hyll, worth an hundreth pounde a yeare, therewith 

to mainteyne his e 2 state, and his amorous 
2 leaf Ci. , , 

ladyes. 

Item, I bequethe to euery honest woman, beyng a 
furtherer of loue, the kepyug of some great maris house, 
that in the owners absence, fayre wyues may resorte 
thyther, to banket & make mery with their Frannians. 

Item, I bequethe to euery yong woman maydenlyke, 
when she shall goe to the market, a poore woman to bye 
her meate, that she in the mene tyme may go to a baudy 
house for her recreacion, or elles to a dauncyng scoole to 
learne facions &c. 

Item, I bequethe to euery apprentise that is willyng to 
deceaue his maister, a receauer of his masters goodes ; a 
house to set his chest in, with his apparell, that he maye 
3 si^n. C,i. g° clenly; a Euffian for his companion, to helpe 
back. him to spende his money, & to bring him ac- 

quainted with whores .&c. 4 

Item I bequethe to all couetous excequtors 5 , a false & 



4 Compare Chaucer's apprentice, with his friend who helpt him to 
spend his plunder, whose wife swived for her sustenance, and to whose 
house he moved his bed and his array when he was sent away by bis 
master for robbing his box : — Cook's Tale; Canterbury Tales, Group 
A, § 8, 1. 4389-4422. 

5 Too secuturs and an overseere make thre theves. Harl. Catalogue, 



26 THE WYLL OF THE DEUYLL, 

an vnfaithfull hert, & loth to departe frome that whiche is 
not their owne, not bestowing the goodes of the deceassed 
to the comforte of the Poore Flocke of Jhesu Christ, which 
causeth vs mvch to reioyce together in hell, to see the mul- 
titude that cometh thither dailye, for that dredefull offence 
committyng. 

Item, I geue to all hatefull haters of the poore Christians, 
a proude, crafty, & vnmercifull wyt, agaynst the prouision 
for the releyfe and maintinaunce of the same. 

Item I geue to certayne Cities, Tounes, and Countreyes, 
Negligent rulers, deuelysh, vnchast, couetous, and 
vnsaciable ministers, pollers, a?id guydes, to haue 
the gouernance therof; Kepyng the goodes bequethed to 
the maintinance of the same, to their owne lucre & vantage, 
and to make merchaundyce of the goodes, landes, & rentes 
of the same, to oppresse the Poore laboring flocke of myne 
enemy Jesu Christ, that thei enioy not those goodes, landes, 
& rentes, according to the wylle & mynde of the Bequethers, 
but mayntayne vsury, and make leaces of the rentes therof, 
to the utter vndoyng of all Artificers : For the whiche 
Usurpers is prouyded a place with me in our infernall 
Cities & Palaces, wher they shall reygne, with Diues Epulo, 
worlde without ende. 

2 leaf c ^ Item, I geue to the faithfull seruauntes of my sonne 
back. Mammona, a proude, couetous, and an vncharitable 
hert, therwith boldly & without mercy, to oppresse the poore, 
to spoile the fatherlesse and wydowes,and to put the co?mnens 
of the countrey frome their Farmes, Houses, commodities & 
liuyng, aud all to mainteyne their pride, & eueriche of them, 
which after their deceasse wyll spende all their euyl gotten 
goodes merily, with cardyng, dicyng, & whorehuntyng. 

Item, I geue to all Craftes men that fyght vnder my 
standarde, "a lyeng tongue, & swearyng. Item, I geue to 
the Butchers, new fresh blood to ouer sprmcle their stale 



ii. 727, col. 1 : Reliq. Antiq. i. 314. See the many stories about rascally 
executors in E,. Brunne's Handlyng Synne, &c. &c. 



AND LAST TESTAMENT. 72 

meate 1 ; that) it may seeme to the eye of the vnware byer, 
2 newly kylld, 2 & prickes inough to set vp their 

thynne meate, that it may appeare thy eke and 
well fedde. 

Item, I geue to the Fishmongers, free libertee to sell 
their rotten lynges & stinkyng saltefysh, to breede & 
engendre diseases among the people, to the phisicions 
advauwtage & proffit. 

Item, I geue to the Kookes and Pye-bakers, good leane 
to shreade mouldy meate, & ready to reune away for quick 
ware 3 , & to mengle it together with new fresh flesh, there- 
with to make pies & pasties, to furnysh their neyghbours 
tables with-all. 

Item, I geue to the Goldesmith.es, brasse & copper inough 
to myngle with their rynges & plate, to make them to wey 
for advantage. Item I geue to the Peuterers, & all other 
4 i ea f q 3 that 4 occupye weyghtes & measures, to haue false 
back. & contrary weightes, to bye with the one, & sell by 

another. Item, to the Apothicaries, I geue leaue, that 
when a man asketh them a thyug, & [they] haue it not, to 
bryug them another thyng, and say it is that. 

Item, I geue to my Dearlyng^s, the priuey papistes, 
ymages, Crucifixes, and other lyke puppet maumettry, to 
worship secretly in their Oratories and bed Chaumbres, 
bicause they may not worship them openly abrode in 
Temples & churches. 

SUP* Ouer this my Testament & last Wylle, which I haue 

here made, in my ragyous mynde and spytefull diuelysh 

memory, in the presence of my great couwcellour [s] , Minos, 

& Radamanthus : I do make the Furies of 5 hell 

excequtors, that is to saye : Megera, Alecto, & Tisi- 

phone : all Masssemowgers & Papistes, with the Authour of 



1 Compare the first Sleight of Cookery (sly^te of cure) in the Liber 
Cure Cocorum, ed. Morris, 1862, p. 5. 

3 live maggots. Cp. the Cook in Green's Quip for an Upstart 
Courtier, p. 59. 



28 THE WYLL OF THE DEUYLL, AND LAST TESTAMENT. 

Heresyes Wylle and Testament 1 , beyng faythfull ouerseers 
of the same. 

Q Written by our faythfull Secretaryes, Hobgoblyn, and 
Blooddybone, in the spytefull Audience of all the Courte of 
hell. 

TESTE ME 



IPSO. 



2 j f c 4 2 The Courte Auernall, after the 

back. rehersall of the Deuyls 

last wylle and 
Testament. 

Ifg Wo, wo, to our vnsaciable paunches, which thorough 
our Souereygne Lorde Belseebub had ben so long fed with 
the labors of the Laitee ! our belly chere, our belly 
chere, fare well ! that mischeife maye come vpon these new 
Gospellers, by whom wee shall bee driuen to ploughe and 
to carte, and to kepe shepe ! 

Belseebub our sweete 
Mazon, Masses of 

Requiem 

thou shalt lacke 

None. 

Imprinted at London by Humfrey Powell.* 

1 Neither this tract (which was mentioned before on p. 22) nor its 
author is now known. 

3 Humphrey Powell dwelt in 1548 above Holborn- conduit. He 
appears soon afterwards to be the first printer in the kingdom of Ire- 
land. I have heard of no book printed by, or for, him at London, after 
1551, yet I find him in the list of the Stationers' Company in the year 
1556. — Ames, p. 264 



29 



a Calk tf Cm Wto on tfjetr 
i^usbantls , Ware. 

[Mr. Ormsby Gore's Porkingtori MS. No. 10, ab. 1460 a.d., 

leaf 56, back.] 

LEve, lystynes to me 
Two wordys or thre, 
And 1 herkenes to my songe.; 
And I schaft teft £ow a tale, 
Howe .x. wyffys satt at \ e nale, 
And noman hem a-monge. 

" Sen we haue no othere songe 
[Forto singen vs amonge,] 

Talys lett vs teft 
Off owre hosbondes ware, 
Wycfr of hem most worthy are 

To-day to bere the bell. 

And I schaft nowe begyn att myne : 
I knowe the mett 2 weft & fyne, 

The len^te of a snayle, 
And ener he warse is from day to day. 
To grete god euer I pray 

To gyve hym evyle hayle." 

If The secund wyffe sett her nere, 
And seyd, " by the rode, I haue a ware 

That is two so mene 3 : [leaf 57.] 

1 Every final d, g, ni, n, lias a curl to it, which in some cases must 
mean e. 2 measure, length. 3 middling ; ' twice as poor.' 



30 A TALK OF TEN WIVES ON THEIR HUSBANDS* WARE. 

I mett 1 hym in f> e morowe tyde, 
When he was in his moste pryde, 
The len^te of .iij. bene. 

" Howe schuld I be served with that ? 
I wold gybbe, owre gray catt, 

Were cord ]>ere on ! 
By sayne peter owte of rome, 
I se neuer a wars lome 

Stondyng opon mone." 

% The .iij. wyffe was fuft woo, 
And seyd that " I haue one of thoo 

That no^te is at nede ; 
Owre syre breche, when hit is torn, 
Hys pentyft pepythe owte be-forn 

Lyke a warbrede 2 ; 



u 



Hit growethe ait wit/i-in ]> e here : 
Sychon se I neuer ere, 

Stondyng opon schare 3 . 
jett the schrewe is hodles, [leaf 57 back.] 

And of aft thynge goodies ! 

There cryste gyve hym care V 

% The .iiij. wyffe of the floke 
Seyd, " owre syre fydecoke 4 

ffayn wold I skyfte 5 : 
He is longe, and he is smalle, 
And jett hathe b e fydefalle 4 ; 

God gyve hym sory thryfte ! 

1 meted, measured. 

2 ? Warbot. ' A worme, escarbot, Palsgrave.' Halliwell. Cp. ' War- 
beetles. The large maggots which are bred in the backs of cattle. 
Norfolk.' lb. 

3 ' The pubes of a man.' Halliwell, quoting this passage. ' The fork 
of the legs,' from A.S. sceare shears, scissors. 

4 For fyde, cp. our Fiddle, fiddle-de-dee, nonsense ; fiddle-head, 
stupid, etc. 5 shift, change ; A.S. sciftan. 



A TALK OF TEN WIVES ON THEIR HUSBANDS* WARE. 31 

" The leste fyngere on my honde 
Is more them he, whan lie dothe stonde : 

Alasse that I am lorn ! 
Sory mowwtyng com there-on ! 
He schold a be a womon 

Had he be eere born." 

% The .v. wyffe was fuft fayn 
When sche hard her felowys playn, 

And vp sche gan stond : 
" Now je speke of a tarse 1 ! 
In aft Y warld is not a warse [leaf 58.] 

Them hathe my hosbond. 



(C 



Owre syre bradys 3 lyke a dere, 
He pysses his tarse euery ^ere, 

By^te as dothe a boke : 
When men speke of archery, 
He mon stond faste there-by, 

Or ellys hys schote woft troke 3 ." 

% The .vj. wyffe hy^te sare ; 
Sche seyd : " my hosbondys ware 

Is of good a-syse 4 ; 
He is whyte as ony mylke, 
He is softe as ony sylke, 

£ett sertis he may not ryse. 

I lyrke 5 hym vp with my hond, 
And pray hym that he woft stond, 
And jett he lythe styft. 



1 ' Mentula, virga :' Halliwell, citing this passage. 

2 ? sheds his horns ; ? braid, to draw a sword out of the scabbard. 

3 fall short: Halliwell, quoting these lines. ? A.S. tracan fail. 

4 measure, standard of weight, etc. 

5 jerk. Lirt to toss, West, and Cumb. Dial. p. 368: Halliwell, 
citing this passage. 



32 A TALK OF TEN WIVES ON THEIR HUSBANDS* WARE. 

When I se that aft is no^te, 
I thynke mony a thro 1 tho^te ; 

Bot cryste wote my wyft." [leaf 58 back.] 

T The .vij. wyffe sat on the bynctr, 
And sche caste her legge on wryncfr, 

And bad fyft the wyne : 
" By seynt lame of galys, 
In englond ne in walys 

Is not a wars them myne ! 

" Whon owre syre comys In, 
And lokes after that sory pyne 

That schuld hengge bytwen his leggis, 
He is lyke, by the rode, 
A sory laueroke 2 satt on brode 
Opon two adyft eggis." 

If The .viij. wyffe was well I-ta^te, 
And seyd, " seldom am I sa^te, 

And so I weft may : 
When the froste fresys, 
Owre syris tarse lesys, 

And aft-way gose a-way. 

When the ^eke 3 gynnys to synge, [leaf 59.] 

Then the schrewe begynnys to sprynge, 

Lyke a humbulbe ; 
He cowres vp on othere two, — 
I know not the warse of tho, 

I schrew hem aft thre V* 

T The .ix. wyffe sett hem ny^e, 
And held a mett 4 vp on hy^e 
The lenjte of a fote : 



fierce. 2 lark. 3 A.S. geac a cuckoo. 4 measure. 



A TALK OF TEN WIVES ON THEIR HUSBANDS* WARE. S3 

" Here is a pyntell of a fayre len^te, 
But he berys a sory stren^te, — 
God may do boote 1 ; — 

" I bow hym, I bend hym, 
I stroke hym, I wend 2 hym ; 

The deuell mot hym sterve ! 
Be he hote, be he cold, 
Tho I torn hym two fold, 

jett he may not serve. " 



% The .x. wyfFe be-gan her tale, 

And seyd, " I haue on of the smale, P e af 59 back.] 

Was wyndowed a-way. 
Of all no^tes it is no^te : 
Sertis, and hit schuld be bo^te, 

He is not worth a nay " \ • Amen. 

1 remedy, help. 2 turn. 



C 



34 

& BSalatie or ttoo bp Chaucer. 

[The two following Balades owe their importance to Shirley's heading 
over their second page, the hack of leaf 244, " Balade by Chaucer." 
Over the first stanza of the first Balade, near the foot of the page, is 
merely written " Balade ;" but over the second stanza, at the top of the 
back of leaf 244, is the headline "Balade by Chaucer," and this second 
stanza begins with a capital letter as if it were the first stanza of an 
incomplete Balade. Taken-in by this, I printed only the 2nd and 3rd 
stanzas in The Atlienmum, February 18, 1871, p. 210, col. 2, but a 
Chaucer friend, who had at first been taken-in like I had, and then 
found out his mistake, told me of mine; and here accordingly is the 
complete Balade, though without the Envoy which it ought to have. 

Following it is the incomplete Maidenhead-Balade that disputes with 
the Swiving one the title to being Chaucer's. Either or both may well 
have been written by the author of some of the Canterbury Tales. 

" Shirley was Chaucer's contemporary, having been born in 1366 (as 
Bitson, Bibl. Poet. 102, reports Stowe), and himself wrote verses. He 
is our great authority for the authorship of the minor poems of his 
time. He died in 1456, aged ninety, and copied volumes of verse (and 
prose), of which at least five still exist. The handsomest, a vellum 
one, written before Shirk 1 }" was old, is Harl. 7,333, containing Chaucer's 
' Canterbury Tales,' &c, some of Lydgate's Poems, &c. ; the other 
three known to me arc, the Additional MS. 16,165 in the British 
Museum, on paper, written in Shirley's old age, containing Chaucer's 
' Boethius,' the present Balade, &c. ; Ashmole 59 in the Bodleian, on 
paper, containing Lydgate's Poems, &c. ; and a paper MS. B,. 3. 20 in 
Trinity College, Cambridge, of Lydgate's Poems, &c. Mr. Bradshaw 
has seen a fifth Shirley MS — of Lydgate's Poems — that the late Mr. 
Lilly had on sale for £120; but as no English buyer would give that 
sum for it, it went to the United States. 

" On the first view, then, we ought to presume that the following 
Balade (or Balades) is (or are) Chaucer's ; and, as neither is in Dr. 
Morris's or Mr. Bobert Bell's edition of Chaucer's Poetical Works, 
both ought to be put before Early-English students." (Athenceum, 
altered.)] 

[Shirley's MS, Additional 16,165 in the British Museum, leaf 244.] 

Balatie (on Swiving). 

Hit is no right 1 alle o]?er lustes to leese / 
]>is mone]?e of May / for missyng of on cas 
]?er-fore I vvol / ]?us my cliaunce cheese 
Ageyns love / trey ageyns an as / 
Hasard a tout 2 and launche an esy pas / 
In lowe countrey / ]?er as hit may not greve 
]?us holde I bett / ]?an laboure as a reve / 

1 Every final/, g, t, has a tag to it. 2 ? MS. cont. 



MS Headline — ^ Balade by Chaucer 35 

IT O ith. hit is so / ]?er as hit may not freese / E leaf 244 back -J 
^ ]?at euery wight / but I ■ ha]?e sume solas 
I wol me venge on loue as do]?e a breese 1 
On wylde horsse ]?at rennen in harras 2 / 
fFor / maugre love amiddes in his cumpas 
I wol conclude / my lustes to releeve / 
]?us holde I bett / ]?an labour as a Reve / 

T Yit might I seyne / cryst seeyne 3 as whan men sneese 4 / 
If I hade leve / to hunt in euery chace 
Or fisshen / and so myn angle leese / 
]?at Barbelle had swolowed bo]?e hooke aud lace / 
5 Yit launche a steerne / and put at suche pitrchace 
To fonde 6 to dompe 7 / als deepe as man may dyeve / 
j?us holde I bett / ]?an labour as a Reeve / 



[Shirley's MS. Addit. 16,165 (Brit. Mus.), leaf 244 back.] 

JSalafce* 

[The Yard-Plough with its Ball-Stots.] 

^[ Of alle ]?e crafftes oute / blessed 8 be ]?e ploughe 

So mury it is / to holde [n] it 9 by-hinde / 

ffor whanne J?e share / is shoven Inn depe ynoghe 

And ]?e cultre / Kerve]?e / in his knynde / 

]?e tydee 10 soyle / ]?at do)?e \q lande vnbynde / 



1 Gadfly. 2 Stud of brood mares and horses. 

3 ? ' save ' — MS. may be ' seeyue ' — or ? ' saine,' make whole, protect. 

4 ? MS fneese. Ellis's Brand, iii. 66, quotes from Langley's ' Polydore 
Vergil,' fol. 130 b, " There was a plage whereby many as they neesed 
dyed sodeynly, wherof it grew into a custome that they that were present 
when any man neezed should say, ' God helpe you !' A like deadly 
plage was sometyme in yawning, wherfore menne used to fence them- 
selves with the signe of the Crosse : bothe whiche customes we reteyne 
styl at this day." 5 Query, MS. ? 6 Try. 

7 Plunge. 8 All the final dees and cfa have a curl to them. 

9 ? MS". 10 ? MS. rydec. 



36 A BALADJB OR TWO BY CHAUCER. 

Agoyns ]?e hil / Tpruk 1 In, tpruk out, I calle / 
fFor of / my ploughe / ]?e best[e] stott 2 is balle / 

% ]?e Dryver hade a goode 3 / at whuhche I loughe / 
ffor of ]?e poynt whan stripped was ]?e Rynde / 
He dyd dryve In, };eghe J>e lande were toughe / 
Bo]?e Rudd and Goore / and eke Bayard j?e blyndc 
4 ]?at beter beestis / may j?er no man fynde / 
Ageyns ]?e hil / tpruk In, tpruk out, I calle / 
ffor of my ploughe / \o best[e] stotte is balle / 

1 ? Tprnk. 

2 This Eeve sat vp on a ful good slot 

That was al homely grey / and highte Scot. 

Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, Group A, 
§ 1, 1. 615, Ellesniere MS, p. 18. 

3 goad. 4 leaf 245. 



37 



[Addit. MS. 16,165, leaf 245.] 

d Beuottssima suffrajjia pro 
multerftws tmpregnanfcis. 

[Oratio] 

d Omnipotens sempiterne deus / qui beatissimam virginem 
& matrem Mariam in conceptu / et partu concecrasti, et 
Ionam prophetam de ventre Ceti potenti virtute liberasti / 
famulam tuam .N. grauidam protege & vi[vi]fica in salutari 
tuo, vt proles in ea contenta feliciter ad lucem prodeat, et ad 
graciam lauacri proveniat, ipsaque in parfotriendo dolorem 
misericorditer evadat, & a morte perieido secura permaneat / 
■per dominum nostrum lehsum cristum filinm &c / 

Secreta / 

Suscipe, quesumus domine, preces & hostias hwimlitatis 
nostre, & famulam tuam .N. scuto proteccioms defende / & 
quam ex gracia tua grauidam esse voluisti, adueniente partus 
tempore gractose 1 Libera J , et ab omnibus tribulaciowibus, cum 
prole, clementer conserua / per dominum nostrum Ihesum & 
cetera / 

d Post communio 

Adeste, domine, supplicacionibus nostris, & famule tue 
.N. munus concede, vt v[e]niente tempore pariendi, gracie 
tue presidium suscipiat, vt cum proles humana ediderit, 
percepto lauacri salutari, gloriosis incrementis ffeliciter pro- 
ficiat, per dominum Ihesum Christum filium tuum. & cetera / 



1 leaf 245 back. 



38 



$robtrt8. 



[The following Proverbs are in the Harlcian MS 7578, and in the 
Fairfax MS. 17, in the Bodleian Library, are attributed to Chaucer. 
They have been sometimes mistakenly amalgamated with Halsham's 
Balade ' The worlde so wide M . These Proverbs were first printed by 
Stowe, in his Chaucer's Works, ed. 1561, leaf 340. Mr. Bradshaw first 
arranged them in couplets.] 

[Shirley's MS. Addit. 16,105, If. 246 bk.] 

^[ Prouerbe. 

(i) 

If What shal ]?ees clones ]>us many fold 
Loo ]?is hoote / somers day / 

[Answer] 

Affter heet / komeJ>e cold / 

No man caste his pilchche away / 

(2) 

If Of )?is worlde / )?e wyde compas / 
Hit wol not / in myn armes tweyne / 

[Answer.'] 

Who so mychel wol embrace / 
Lytel ]?er of he shal destreyne. 2 



1 Copies of this are in Shirley's MS Addit, 16,165, leaf 244; Hai-1. 
2251, leaf 23, back; Harl. 2255, leaf 14. 

2 grasp: see Parlement of Foules, stanza 49, 1. 337. 



39 



[Harl. MS. 78, If. 80 7 , ? ab. 1455 a.d.] 

Bottrma et Consilium dMienis, 

Onys a day / and hvyes a day / Thryes a wook / and twyes 
a yeer / 

Onys a day. ]?at Is to seyne / Charge and bidde ]?y wyff, 
If sheo may in any wysse / to go to \q chirche / |7er deuowtely 
to here / hir masse / 

Twyes a day / j?at is to seyne / Affter ]?at Ipat god sende)?e 
to ]?ee and hir / counseylle hir at duwe tymes to ete and 
sowpe / 

Thryes a wooli, ]?at is to seyne / If so bee ]?at of )?y manly 
raysoun ]?owe feel ]>j self of so noble and strong corage / 
with-oute ]?enpeyring of \j pe?*sone / ]?anne thryes a wooke 
paye ]>j dette / which ]?owe art bounden-to by )?e bonde of ]?y 
manage / 

And hvyes a yeer / ]?at is to seyn / Affter \j degree and 
power / so clo]?e hir in ponrpure or palle / 

And who ]?at ]?us rulle)?e his goode wyff, fayre mot him 
befalle. Et econtra. 



1 This leaf and the three leaves following are without doubt in 
Shirley's handwriting, with his eo for e, etc. After the present bit 
of prose, follows Chaucer's Complaint of Pitee, with the curious unique 
continuation printed by Stowe, Urry, etc. Shirley seems to have 
thought this continuation, part of Chaucer's poem. 

In the prose above, the words underlined in the MS are printed in 
italics. In other words, the italic letters are, as usual, expansions of 
contractions. 



40 



W&t JH caning of jfllatTtacje, 

[Sloane, 1983 B, leaf 13.] 

Ther was an old batchleor maried to a young girle, and 
efter maried he went to bed with the girle cverie night for 
6 months time togither, never minding nor understanding 
what he ought to doe to his wife at night, bot fell asleep 
when he went to bed at night, & got up in the morning, 
and went abroad to his busines ; and all the time under- 
standing that he hadd nothing to doe with a wife bot for 
dressing his victuals, & keeping a clean house, & his back 
wearme all night, bot never minded the onlie & cheif 
thing te poor young girle vanted. so efter long times 
patience, or rather Impatience, the poor girle vent to the 
preist of the parosh, & compleaned on her housband John, 
and sayes, " god for-give yow, S/r, for marieing me to a man 
tliat understands not mariadge ! therfor, pray, S/r, tell him 
what he ought to doe, or let us be pairted, for I can not 
comand natur longer ; and ye void taiken it ill to me to gon 
& satisfied nature the wrong vay, and mad me sit on the 
pillar of repentance." The preist replyed that he void be at 
her dwelling the nixt day, & speak to John ; and acordingly 
cam, and asked John how he cam to be so unkind to his 
wife ; who replyed that ' non [c]ould be kinder to wife nor he 
was ; never had he disobeyed her, or given her a froward 
vord. - ' "bot John," say the preist, "ye ar van ting in an 
other thing of greater consequence ;" and tells that mariadge 
was ordained for procreatione of children, for satisfieing 
nature, & avoiding of fornicatione, with a great manie more 
arguments : bot, by all, he culd not come to understand what 



THE MEANING OP MARRIAGE. 41 

he ought. So the preist says : " poor girle, I pittie thy caise ! 
for this man is verie dull ; bot I think it best yow & I go to 
bed, & I will shew him how and what to doe. - " who replyed 
she was willing with all her heart; & to bed the went. & 
the preist got on the top of her, and spok in Irish tongue 
(as all the rest of the forg[o]ing storie was) Mussho vetich, 
that is to say, doe this vay. So when the preist had don 
what he was able to do, the poor girl was so weel pleased 
with the game, that she says, " Oh : Sir, our John is verie 
forge tfull ! pray doe it over again V 3 Vale. 

[On the back is written.] 

scottch stor . . . 
M r Baire . . . 



* T 



D 



42 



[Lansdowne, 197, (a US of Wyntou's Chroaicle) leaf 200.] 

3nc prttttt $eist oi ane eremeit 

tit §talpe. 

Ane eremit in Italy e, professing a mervellous straight lyf, 
and eschewing the citie, dwelt in desert, quliare he maid 
him self ane cave wroncht by his handis with spaid and 
schoill 1 , & covering the sam -with bouchis 2 & crethe, lay 
than in his couche 3 or cabine, living in <xmtemplat [i] oun as 
on //tat vtterlie had forsakin the varld; quhare 4 -vpone he 
com in great cradeit with the pepill, and especiallie with the 
voincn of that toun ; as by natour vomen ar more apt to 
beleif, & redier gevin to swperstitioun, nor men ar. After- 
voirdis it apperit ]>at this eremeitis holines vas altogether 
cunterfit, & he fand a verie lewid man ; for it vas knaain 
and veill previt that he had the cumpanie of dyvers gentil- 
vomen of Mat citie; and thairfoir being examenit opinlie, & 
grevislie rebukit, he confessit that he had the vse of dyvers 
ladyis thair. quhair-vpone a register that twik the not of 
all thair nainis, being mwche grevit vith his flechlie beha- 
uiour, especiallie bekaus he had vsit so inanye, said thus : 
" ah thow vyle man ! is thair vther with quhome thow hes 
beine acquentit? sa}^ on, beist ! and schame the de veill V 
The puir eremit, being vonderfullie rebwkit of everie bodye, 
& mervellius sorie for his folies previllie commitit and opinlie 
knowin, said to the register in this vayis ; " sir, seing I am 
chargit to say the truthe, and the holye mother chwrche 
villithe me to leiff nothing vnrehersit, that the rather vpone 

1 shovel. 2 ? MS. bouchis = boughs. 

3 ? MS. It cannot be bouthe = booth, bothy. 4 ? MS quhan. 



ANE PRETTIE JEIST OE ANE EREMEIT IN ITALYE. 43 

my plane confessioun I may the sooner have obsolacioun 1 : 
in gud fathe, master register/' [said he] 2 , U I do not 
remery/ber anye vther saving ^our vyf onlye, quho vas the 
first & last thsit ever I have touchit senk 3 I maid my grave; 
& thairfoir, if it pleas jow to, put hir in $our bwik, alse jow 
may baldlie do it, for seurlye sche vas verie loving vnto me/ ; 
with that, the register in a greit heit staid 4 vp, & casting his 
pen out of his hand, vald have beine at the eremit rather 
/7z,an his lyf. the pepill lawchid hartlie to sie the register, 
f/?at vas so haistie befoir to charg the simpili eremit vith his 
vontit follies, to be in swuche sort towchit vith his vyfis 
defalt. 



1 absolution. 2 The brackets are those of the MS. 

3 since. 4 ? MS. stooid. 



44 



CONTENTS. 





PAGE 


. 


3 


. 


7 


. 


20 


• 


29 




34 




35 




37 




38 




. 39 




. 40 




. 42 



Forewords ........ 

Jyl of Breyntfords Testament .... 

The "Wyll of the Deuyll, and last Testament 1 

A Talk of Ten Wives on their Husbands' Ware . 

A Balade or two by Chaucer: — 

1. Balade (on Swiving) ..... 

2. Balade (The Yard-Plough with its Ball-Stots) 
Deuotissima Sujfragia pro Mulieribits impregnandis 

Prouerbe (by Chaucer) 

Doctrina et Consilium Galienis .... 
The Meaning of Marriage (a Scotch story) . 
Ane prettie Jeist of ane Eremeit in Italye . 

1 Mr. J. P. Collier's print differs from the original in some spellings, 
and in leaving out a few words. 

The Wyll of the Deuyl was reprinted by Richard Jones — whose date 
is 1581-1611 in Mr. W. Chappell's Ballad- Catalogue — with the addition 
of what Mr. Collier is pleased to call " some miserable and blasphemous 
doggrel." This is the Ten Commandments of the Devil that are in the 
Shepherds Kalendar, and that I extracted in my Forewords to Captain 
Cox or Lanehains Letter, p. lxxx-i, note 2. The title of this reprint is 

"d The wyll of the Deuill, With his .x. detestable Commaundementes : 
directed to his obedient and accursed Children, and the Rewarde pro- 
mised to all suche as obediently wyl endeuer themselues to fulfill them. 
Verye necessarie to be read and well considered of all Christians. 
(J Imprinted at London, by Richarde Johnes and are to be solde at the 
Southwest Dore of Paules Churche." 

From a copy of Johnes's edition in the Advocates' Library, Edin- 
burgh, ' Forty Copies ' were reprinted by Mr. Maidment in 1828. A 
vellum copy is in the Grenville Library, and a paper one in the general 
library, in the British Museum. Mr. Collier says " the humourous 
reference to the tailor's many-coloured banner, composed of pieces 
stolen from the cloth or silk of his customers [p. 22], was most likely 
derived from the Jests of Piovano Arlotto, originally printed in 1520, 
and often afterwards ; but it [the Wyll's] is the earliest notice of it in 
English, and from Powell's tract it may have found its way into Sir 
John Harington's Epigrams, published in 1615, and from thence into 
later jest-books." 



$pl of Brtpntffartita Testament. 



CORRECTION. 

By some miscarriage of the post, or oversight, which E 
very much regret, the printers have not made on p. 5-6, the 
correction I sent them when my friend Mr. Cornelius Paine 
lent me his copy of Mr. J. P. Collier's edition of The Wyll 
of the Deny 11. The paragraph 

11 Of the Wyll of the Deuyll I can find no notice, biblio- 
graphical or other, but am told that Mr. J. P. Collier has 
reprinted a later edition of it in one of his Series, and, as 
usual, without saying where his original is," 

was written on the information of a book-learned friend 
whom I thought I could trust ; but on finding that he was 
wrong, I sent the printers this correction : 

" Of the Wyll of the- Deuyll I could find no notice, biblio- 
graphical or other, till our member, Mr. Cornelius Paine 
lent me his copy of Mr. J. P. Collier's print of the Lambeth 
copy, in one of his Series." 

The Jyl has only reacht me to-day (July 21, 1871), and I 
give orders at once that this ' ' Correction " be printed, sent 
to all Members who have received a copy of Jyl, and put- 
into all copies in stock. 

Having made several serious charges against Mr. Collier 
that I can substantiate, I am the more anxious to withdraw, 
and apologize for, an unfounded one, that has appeared 
against my direction and without my knowledge. 

F. J. FURNIVALL. 



Corrections for Captain Cox. 

P. vii, col. 2, 1. 34, for drives, read dines. 
P. xxxii, 1. 7, for Lybeans Discours, read Lybeaus Disconus. 



/? 



Presented by the Editor. 



3)^1 of £regnttbrta Cestamntt 



BY 



ROBERT COPLAND, BOKE-PRYNTER, 

%\)t »gll of tfje Beugll 

anfc fjt'g 

&aat Cestammt, 

a Calk of Cen 2Mbes on tijeir 
f^usoanOs' Mare, 

3 BalaUe or ttoo ftp Cj)aum\ 

&ntr ©tijer Sfjort pieces. 

Edited by FREDERICK J. FURNIVALL. 



PRINTED FOE PRIVATE CIRCULATION. 
LONDON, 1871. 



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